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Mazda diesels on the way

Word at the New York auto show has Mazda bringing its Sky-D direct-injection diesel engines to the United States in 2012. The first Mazda oil-burner here will be a Mazda 6-size vehicle, said Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi. He wouldn’t say exactly what car, though.

Redesigned Ford Focus expected to get 40 mpg highway

The redesigned 2012 Ford Focus will get an estimated 40 mpg in highway driving with an all-aluminum 2.0-liter engine mated to a six-speed, dual dry-clutch automatic transmission. The normally aspirated engine combines variable camshaft timing and high-pressure direct fuel injection to crank out 160 hp and 146 lb-ft of torque. That compares with 140 hp and 136 lb-ft from the aluminum 2.0-liter engine used in the current-generation Focus.

New Audi A4 (2012): UK prices start at under £24k

2012 Audi A4 - UK Prices start from 'under' £24k The facelifted Audi A4 isn’t a new A4 for 2012, just one with plenty of tweaks and changes under the skin to freshen it up for its battle against the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class. The new Audi A4 was revealed at the end of October - together with the facelift for the S4 and A4 Allroad – and it brings with it some decent styling updates, a more upmarket interior and changes under the bonnet. There’s a new 1.8 litre TFSI with 170bhp and 50.4mpg, although you can still have the old 1.8 TFSI with 118bhp, and it’s the old A4 1.8 TFSI Audi are trumpeting as ‘sub £24k’, although for some reason they’re not being specific.